wing clip

[uli]

Hi, I had my boys wing clipped, after a year of flying, but now i am wondering what is too high too put him on, because he cant just fly down any more. Example,, is his stand too high?? is the coffee table too high?? I am apprehensive about putting him on any thing but the floor, because i had a quaker parrott who jumped down off his cage ( witch wasnt high at all ) but when he landed his chest bone split open his chest, I am very worried about this happening too my eccky. Any advice would be good. Thanks

 

[wenz2712]

My Amazons wings are clipped and she goes on anything that is high! When she flys down she just glides to the floor! She can still fly to a certain level, all it has done has stopped her gaining height or being able to fly pull pelt into doors, windows etc.... So I would still let him go on anything as normal, with not worrying about it Hope this has reassured you a bit.

 

[Pedro]

Well that will depend on how the wings were clipped. To much & yes the weight of your bird crashing onto a hard object can result in some damage from bruising to split breast bone.

However if only 6 flight feathers were clipped on each wing your bird should be able to easily glide to the floor & land on both feet.

I would also like to say you will have to cut back on his food intake now that he won't be able to fly around to exercise for at least another year.

May i please ask why did you decide to clip his wings after so long.?

 

[uli]

I left it so long because of what happened too my quaker, and because i do like him with me all the tyme, however in saying that he has been ruling me, and it became a bit too much, could not keep him off me at all, also where i live there is nobody capable of clipping bird wings, Vets included. so i had too travel too finally get him done.

 

[Pedro]

I left it so long because of what happened too my quaker, and because i do like him with me all the tyme, however in saying that he has been ruling me, and it became a bit too much, could not keep him off me at all, also where i live there is nobody capable of clipping bird wings, Vets included. so i had too travel too finally get him done.

I thought that might be the case. While he is grounded so to speak it would be a good idea to set some boundaries in place. I am guessing he has matured & is becoming a little hard to control.


Parrot Enrichment

There are plenty of enrichment ideas in the above link. Uli may like to help.

 

[uli]

thanks pedro, and yes he has matured,he is 3 years old next month. such a sweetie though, loves me cuddling him, also can i get your opinion on taking him outside now he cant fly off, i was told if i take him outside and put him on the ground, he will pick up germs from the wild outside birds, is this the case, or will it be okay too let him walk around outside. ( with me of course) thanks

 

[Pedro]

Look i don't see a problem with taking him outside. The chances of him picking up germs from the ground is very remote. My SC Too plays on the grass everyday & has done so for the last 5 or 6 years i have owned him without any ill effects at all. I also let my clipped birds climb around in the Bottlebrush Tree in my garden. They love it.

 

[uli]

fantastic, thankyou for all your advice, im still wary and unsure about even walking around with him on my shoulder in case he tries too fly off, he is so used too being able too do that. But now he will just crash too the ground and possibly get injured.

 

[KellyH]

You'll just have to be cautious if you know there are certain things that might scare him. My Amazon is clipped and he is fine up on anything high. However, my son accidently slammed a cupboard door in the kitchen one morning when it was quiet and my zon got so scared he nearly fell off of his playstand. Lucky thing I was there because he was literally hanging on by his beak and I had to help him back up.

That being said, however, he did take a flight from the top of his cage to the couch a couple of nights ago and that was a good 10 feet. He flapped like crazy but he made it. lol He only has 4 feathers on each side clipped but he's a very heavy bird so that was all he needed.

 

[mtdoramike]

OK, as far as wing clipping goes. Stout chested birds such as Eclectus or African greys, should only be moderately clipped so that they will not sink like a rock when they lose their balance and fall off a perch or your shoulder. Yes, they can hurt their chest or breast bone if they are clipped too drastically. This is why I have mine clipped by a professional bird groomer.

To test how well your bird can glide after wing clipping, take them to a room with carpeting, preferrably a heavy nap carpet or you can lay pillows all over the floor. Then get them to fly off your are and see if they glide to sink. I would definately do this test before taking an untethered bird outside.

I see ads on Craigslist all the time where folks have lost their beloved Eclectus or African Grey's because of taking a "CLIPPED BIRD" outside assuming it couldn't fly very well only to watch the bird get spooked and take off like a rocket. So even a clipped bird can and will fly. It may not be for long distances, but short bursts enough to be well out of sight of the owner.

I'm a firm believer in the old adage, "an ouce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

 

[Tammy]

fantastic, thankyou for all your advice, im still wary and unsure about even walking around with him on my shoulder in case he tries too fly off, he is so used too being able too do that. But now he will just crash too the ground and possibly get injured.

I had my OWA clipped a few months ago for the first time in his life. (He will be 13 in April.) He sank like a stone the first time he tried to fly off. I kept him on the floor for a few hours & within a day or two he was climbing everywhere & understood his new limits.

I too was terrified of him falling, but by keeping him on the floor & then letting him jump off the couch & land on the pillows & rug he learned quickly that he would now have to wait for my mother to get close enough to attack & could no longer hunt her from floor to floor. Her closet is in the same room as his cage & when she tries to pick out clothes he still threatens her (my favorite part of the day)